helenjp

Dengaku Miso (Three Types) These miso spreads keep fairly well – at least a month in refrigerated. They can be spread directly onto simply grilled or boiled ingredients, or they can be spread generously onto skewered ingredients and grilled till bubbly. Omitting egg yolk and using only kombu dashi (kelp stock)instead of katsuo dashi (kelp and bonito dashi) make it easy to create vegetarian versions. Red Dengaku Miso - Sesame 4 T aka miso (red miso, 60g approx.) 2 tsp sugar 1 T mirin (sweet rice wine) 2 T dashi, stock, or sake (rice wine) 1 T Japanese toasted sesame oil White Dengaku Miso - Yuzu T white miso (replace about 1/3 of the white miso with red miso for everyday use - great taste, though not as pretty as white miso). 1 tsp sugar 1 T mirin (sweet rice wine) 1 T dashi, stock, or sake (rice wine) 1 tsp grated yuzu zest 1 egg yolk, optional Brown Dengaku Miso - Scallion 4 T miso (brown "inaka" miso, 60g approx.) 2 T finely chopped scallions (wakegi if possible) 1 tsp sugar 1 T mirin (sweet rice wine) 1 T dashi, stock, or sake (rice wine) * Red Dengaku Miso - Sesame Mix very well together, simmer till thick. Add 2 T of sesame seeds or ground sesame when cool if desired Garnish: toasted whole sesame seeds * White Dengaku Miso - Yuzu Mix very well together, simmer till thick. Garnish: shreds of yuzu peel *Brown Dengaku Miso - Scallion) Mix very well together, simmer till thick. Garnish: Shichimi togarashi (chili pepper mix) Sato-imo (Small Taro) Dengaku Peel thickly. If large, cut into thick slices. Rub with salt and rinse well, soak in water. Simmer in vinegared water till just tender. Tofu Dengaku Press under light weight, wipe dry, cut into short strips. Skewer cooked sato-imo or tofu, spread with miso, grill under low-moderate flame (burns easily). Apply garnish, serve. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Japanese, Vegetarian, Intermediate, Vegetables ( RG2077 )

My little book says that Kyoto style boiled mochi, even round ones, and other Kyoto cooking styles, are found up the Japan Sea Coast - maybe the influence of the salt road??? New recipes: first up Kelp Rolls (Kobu Maki) for New Year This is a surprisingly popular New Year dish. I find my family like them best of all rolled up with nothing at all inside. Later this morning: Chicken datemaki (modern datemaki variant)Variant on datemaki Yuzu kanten jelly Burdock root with sesame Nambu-age Tempura for Fish, Chicken, or Vegetables (tempura with black sesame seeds in the batter) These recipes are mostly fairly lightly seasoned - people in certain regions may prefer them more heavily seasoned, and older people may well prefer them sweeter. Another frequently used item is su-basu (lotus root marinaded in vinegar) Peel lotus root, trim notches between holes around the outside to make a flower shape, drop into vinegared water. Bring another pan of vinegared water to the boil, simmer lotus root until tender, drain, place in a container, and cover with equal quantities of mirin and rice vinegar). One last item... East/west snack selection: In small containers or plastic or foil bento cups, put a few of the following Cocktail size pickled cucumbers. Seedless olives, Salami Small balls of fresh white mozzarella cheese, or chunks of natural cheddar cheese. Lotus root, boiled as above, cut into short lengths and marinaded in vinegar, mustard, a little grated garlic turmeric, salt and pepper, and a little olive oil (i.e. a yellow mustard/garlic vinaigrette). You can also add halved chery tomatoes to this marinade.

Tataki Gobo - Burdock Root with Sesame This is frequently served at New Year, but makes a tasty lunchbox vegetable any time from early summer through mid-winter. 2 gobo (burdock root) rice-washing water or handful of rice 100 ml mirin (sweet rice wine) 100 ml rice vinegar or mild vinegar 50 ml dashi stock made with kelp, or kelp and katsuo 1 c sesame seeds (toasted), or 2/3 c ground sesame seeds * Scrub gobo – young gobo need not be peeled, but even older gobo only need to be scraped rather than peeled. Peeling thickly removes the tastiest outer layer! Cut into short lengths. Split vertically in halves or quarters if large, drop into water. * Add a handful of rice to a panful of water, drain gobo, add to pan, bring to the boil and simmer till tender. Don’t overcook, you want to retain maximum flavor. Drain, reserving liquid, cool separately, store in liquid if not serving immediately. * Bring mirin to the boil, add vinegar, dashi, and salt. Add drained gobo. * Toast sesame seeds if still raw, spread on an old cloth (to stop them flying round), cut up. Alternatively, use about 2/3 c ground toasted sesame). * To serve, drain gobo thoroughly, mix with sesame seeds. Keywords: Side, Vegetables, Hors d'oeuvre, Easy, Vegan, Japanese, Vegetarian ( RG2076 )

Datemaki with Chicken This is a small recipe, makes about 4-6 slices of a small rolled omelet. It's also lighter and more savory, less sweet, than a traditional datemaki. As it is also paler, the spiral of green seaweed flakes makes a pleasing contrast. 30 g ground chicken 50 g surimi (fish paste) 1 egg 2 tsp sake (rice wine) 1-1/2 tsp mirin (sweet rice wine) 1 T (approx.) of ao-nori (green flaked seaweed) * Stir and simmer chicken and sake together till crumbly and just cooked through. * Put surimi, beaten egg, and mirin in a food processor or mortar, process or pound until completely amalgamated. * Add chicken to egg mixture. * Pour into a greased square omelet pan, cover with greased foil, cook over low-moderate heat for 2-3 minutes. When dry on top, sprinkle over ao-nori, remove from heat. * Slide onto bamboo mat, ao-nori side up and browned side DOWN, and use mat to push omelet into a roll. * Fasten with rubber bands, allow to cool, with outside edge of roll facing DOWN. * When cool, remove mat, slice datemaki and serve. Although the texture will not be as smooth and datemaki-like, you could use 80-100g chicken instead of the mixture of chicken and fish surimi. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Japanese ( RG2075 )

Yuzu Kanten Jelly This is a refreshing agar jelly, which can be made and served at room temperature. When using citrus with agar, add juice to hot mixture, and process citrus by some method before adding to final mixture, to avoid problems with poor set. 4 g (1 tsp agar powder) will set 400 - 500 ml of liquid. Use less liquid for a firmer jelly, or for ingredients with acid (citrus) or fat (milk). Use more liquid for a jelly to be eaten the same day, for a softer jelly, and for simple jellies. 2 T yuzu jam (yuzu-cha) 1 T fresh yuzu juice, or 1 t yuzu-su, optional 4 g or 1 t powdered agar (kanten) 80 g sugar (can reduce to 60g) 400 ml water honey or syrup from preserved yuzu, if using * Stir agar powder into water, bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer 2 minutes until totally dissolved. * Add sugar, dissolve, and simmer 2 minutes or till completely dissolved (important!). Add 1-2 T yuzu juice or yuzu-su if you like - can make jelly hard to set, but tastes fresher. * Allow to cool and thicken slightly, add yuzu-cha. * Wet a square kanten mold or whatever mold you wish to use, pour in liquid. * Allow to set at room temperature. Turn out and cut, serve as desired. After 2-3 days, kanten gels will start to shed water and become flabby. *Alternatives: Slice 1-2 yuzu and put in the fridge in a baggie for a few days with a generous drizzle of honey – or peel thinly (shred and reserve peel), peel off and discard white pith, slice thinly (discard seeds) and preserve peel and fruit slices in honey as above. To use, drain off and reserve some of the syrup, add fruit and peel to agar mixture as it cools and thickens. Serve with a drizzle of syrup over the top. Keywords: Dessert, Vegetarian, Japanese ( RG2074 )

Nanbu-age Tempura for Fish, Chicken, or Vegetables This is an extremely versatile type of tempura - the sesame seeds not only ameliorate strongly flavored ingredients such as oily fish or thick slices of onion, they also add extra flavor to bland ingredients such as chicken fillets (beat to flatten slightly) or slices of lotus root. You may use more sesame seed, or a mixture of black and white sesame seeds, but to serve cold, a thinnish batter and a small number of sesame seeds is particularly attractive. The batter tastes good cold and without tempura sauce, so this is also a good lunchbox item (include some deepfried negi). Commercial tempura flour is designed to have a reasonable texture when cold, and is useful for making small quantities of tempura. For New Year, serve with a half-battered chestnut or a kumquat preserved in syrup or shochu (rice spirits). Ingredients 2 slices fish (unsalted), salmon, mackerel, bonito, etc. 5 (garnish) preserved chestnuts or kumquats, optional 1 (garnish) negi (Japanese dividing onion), optional Marinade 1 tsp ginger juice, optional 1 T soy sauce 1 qt sake (rice wine) Batters 5 T flour 1/2 egg, or 1 egg white, beaten lightly 100 ml cold water 1-1/2 T flour (for frying chestnut) 1-1/2 T cold water (for frying chestnut) Ten-tsuyu (Tempura dip) 100 ml dashi stock 1 T soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 T mirin 2 T rice vinegar (or mild vinegar) salt, to taste oil for deepfrying (canola or sunflower, safflower, not soy) * Place fish or chicken with marinade ingredients in Ziploc bag or small tray to marinate 10 minutes or so. (No need to marinade vegetable ingredients). * Cut negi into 3cm lengths, heat oil to 170degC, deepfry (without batter) till barely colored and drain. *Make small amount of plain batter. * Wipe chestnuts, dip bottom half in plain flour/water batter, deep fry till batter crisp. Drain. (Don’t fry kumquats if using). *Lightly beat egg or eggwhite if using, add cold water (I dump ice and water in a container and then measure out the water required) and mix flour in. Don't overmix. * Mix sesame batter ingredients, dip fish, deepfry (oil around 180 deg.C)until pale gold, drain. * If serving immediately, mix Ten-tsuyu ingredients, pour over or serve separately. For lunchbox use, don't make. * Serve with negi and kumquat or chestnut, as desired. Keywords: Main Dish, Chicken, Vegetarian, Vegetables, Seafood, Fish, Intermediate, Japanese ( RG2073 )

Kelp Rolls - Maki Konbu for New Year You may make these rolls stuffed with the traditional dried herring (soak 2-3 days while changing water, boil in rice-washing water, remove head and bones, fillet, simmer again in bancha tea - for soft semi-dried fish, you don't need to soak as long), salt salmon, chicken, surimi with shrimp, dried tofu...or don't fill them at all, make "empty" rolls, or simple ties. 8 lengths of kombu 16 30 cm strips of kampyo (dried gourd) 2 salt salmon slices (lightly salted) 1/2 T salt for rubbing kampyo 1 T sake (rice wine) 2 T sugar 1 T mirin (sweet rice wine) 4 T soy sauce * Soak konbu in plenty of water (reserve water). * Remove skin and any bones from pieces of salmon, cut into strips about 2-3cm wide. If you wish, you can simmer the salmon with the teabag and water briefly before skinning, boning, and cutting. However, salted salmon does not need the pre-treatment required for traditional fish such as dried herring etc. * Soak kanpyo in plenty of water – don’t soak too long or it will weaken. When soft, rub with salt to make pliable, rinse off salt, and set aside. * Drain konbu, wipe (makes it easier to handle). * Place fish on one end of the konbu, roll up, and tie in two places with the kampyo strips. Tie fairly loosely, as the kelp will expand. * Place in a pan and cover with kelp soaking liquid, add water to just cover, add sake and a drop lid. Simmer on gentle heat for about 2 hours, until nice and soft when pierced with a skewer. Alternatively place in a thermal cooker, or put in your rice cooker, set to “okayu” (congee) setting. * Add rest of seasonings (reduce sugar 10 1 T and use 3 T mirin if desired), cook for a further hour. Turn if necessary to make sure flavor penetrates evenly and rolls don’t burn. * Allow to cool in pan if possible, drain, trim ends neatly, trim ties, and cut each roll in half (so that there is one tie to each roll). Line up family with bowls of hot rice, and dump tasty trimmings on top of rice. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Japanese, Seafood, Vegetarian, Intermediate ( RG2072 )

Of course the depachika at Hankyu counts! I'm so enjoying your talk of Osaka and Kobe. There were a lot of attractive tiny restaurants around the suburban areas of Kobe back when I used to go there for Kyogen lessons, but they looked forbiddingly expensive when I was a student I have many memories of that place...my former father in law used to love it. He still found it amazing that there could be a place with so much food of so many types on sale, and often used to tell me that he knew of only one thing in the whole wide world that wasn't available at the Hankyu depachika..."something they don't have"! In his book, every kind of occasion required a trip to Hankyu. On special occasions he always proudly led the entire family to his favorite tempura restaurant there, and his daily commute to work was always broken to make a circuit round the depachika, picking up Kobeya bread and little packages of all kinds of unrelated foods, to my mother-in-law's despair - her nicely planned meal would be inundated by little plastic containers of wasabi pickles, Kyoto sweets, a few fresh prawns.... When my sister, who is only cautiously adventurous where food is concerned, came to Japan, he took great pleasure in combing the depachika for obscure delicacies he was sure foreigners couldn't eat, and watching her gamely try them all. "Sea slug! I know you can't eat it! It's impossible! Here, have a bite!" Italian food in Japan - most of my Italian recipe books are in Japanese. Hope your local restaurant thrives.

Some newer favorites... Two salad-like dishes which keep well but make a nice change from heavily seasoned items. Cucumber Squeezebox Salad (Jabara Kyuuri no Su-no-mono) Greens with Negi Sauce

It is sweeter than regular "okazu" side dishes, but then some Japanese drinking snacks are sweeter than western tastes would accept. One reason ham is such a popular item in modern "ojuu-bako" (tiered lacquer boxes for serving New Year goodies in) is that it goes so well with both sweet items like kinton, and sharp flavors like namasu! To my taste, most purchased osechi is just too sweet to be pleasant. However, made at home, with fridges and freezers to hand, it doesn't need to be even half as sweet as traditional recipes suggest. Here are a few more of the very traditional dishes - these are seasoned more lightly and are less sweet than traditional versions. The kinton sweet potato puree with chestnuts used to be so sweet that it was just a kind of potato candy, stiff with mizu-ame and sugar. If you buy it, it's been made so far in advance that it no longer tastes of anything much but sugar. It's much better home-made, and is usually top of my kids' list of requests every year. Tomorrow I will input some newer items - sorry for the delay, router problems... Please share your New Year favorites! Datemaki Egg Roll for New Year Kinton Sweet Potato for New Year Iritori Chicken and Vegetables for New Year

Greens with Negi Sauce Serves 4. This cooked salad of broccoli or broccoli rabe, asparaguss and mixed Asian greens is simple to make, stands up to a night or two in the fridge, and the hearty flavor makes a nice contrast to rich New Year dishes. Feel free to use any kind of young, vivid or dark-green flowering or leafy Chinese greens with white or red/purple stems. 1/2 head broccoli, or small pack of broccoli rabe or nanohana 1 taa-sai 1 chingen-sai 1 bunch green asparagus 1/2 bunch red-stemmed spinach or koutai-sai * Break broccoli into florets, peel stem and cut into bite-sized pieces. * Pull leaves of taa-sai away from roots, cut large leaves diagonally in half. * Pull leaves of chingen-sai away from roots, trim ends, cut large leaves diagonally into bite-sized pieces. * Peel lower half of asparagus if necessary. Cut spinach and asparagus into 4cm lengths. * Wash all vegetables, drain. * Chop ginger, garlic, and onion very finely. Mix with other seasonings. * Bring large pan of salted water to a rolling boil. A little oil on the water helps keep the temperature of the water high to enable vegetables to be cooked very quickly. Boil each vegetable separately, removing quickly and spreading to cool on a towel or bamboo tray etc. Pat off excess water if needed. Cook red-stemmed varieties last, as color leaches into water. * Toss cooled vegetables together, place in serving dish, drizzle sauce over. Keywords: Salad, Japanese, Vegetarian, Easy, Vegetables ( RG2071 )

Cucumber Squeezebox Salad - Jabara Kyuuri no Sunomono Serves 4 as Salad. Make this ahead - it tastes much better the next day. The chunks of sliced cucumber and daikon are dressed with onion, dried shiitake, and semi-Chinese seasonings. 3 Japanese cucumbers 1/2 thinnish daikon 3 large dried shiitake 1 knob ginger 1 negi (Japanese dividing onion) 1 dried chili pod 2 T sesame oil (Jpaanese toasted sesame oil) 1-1/2 T soy sauce 2 T sugar 4 T rice vinegar 1/2 tsp salt * Soak dried shiitake in some water in a small ziploc bag. * Lay cucumber on chopping board between two long cooking chopsticks. Slice finely, holding chopsticks so that knife does not cut completely through the cucumber. Cut into short lengths. Drop into salted water for 20-30 minutes. * Peel daikon, cut into lengths, split vertically into about 6 sections, so that each section is around the same thickness as a cucumber. Slice each section the same as the cucumber. Drop into salted water for 20-30 minutes. * Drain and squeeze cucumber and daikon, mix together in a bowl. * When shiitake are soft, trim off stalks, and cut caps into fine shreds. * Thinly peel ginger, slice thinly, and cut into fine shreds. * Peel outer skin of negi if necessary, cut into 4cm lengths, halve vertically, and cut into fine shreds. * Remove seeds from chili pod, cut into fine rings. * Heat sesame oil in a shallow pan or frypan, and add chili, ginger, shiitake, and negi in that order. Stir over high heat briefly, then add seasonings, bring to the boil, and immediately remove from heat and pour over vegetables, stirring to mix. * Cool and keep refrigerated till needed. Keywords: Salad, Vegetables, Hors d'oeuvre, Japanese, Vegetarian, Easy ( RG2070 )

Iritori - New Year Chicken and Root Vegetables Serves 6 as Side. This is a very traditional Japanese New Year dish. There are two versions - in this one, Iritori, the chicken and vegetables are cooked together. In other versions, ingredients are cooked separately and assembled at the end. If you make this once, note which vegetables go first, and which get left until last, and next year, adjust quantities of each vegetable to suit your family’s tastes. 200 g boneless chicken thigh 1 T sake (rice wine) 1 qt soy sauce 1 large carrot (Kyo ninjin) 150 g burdock root 150 g lotus root 100 g boiled bamboo shoot 5 dried shiitake 1 sheet konnyaku (devil's tongue root jelly) 2 T oil 1 c dashi stock or water 3 T sake (rice wine) 3 T Mirin (sweet sake) 3 T soy sauce (preferably usukuchi or light soy sauce) 5 cooked ginkgo nuts (optional) 5 boiled, peeled quail eggs (optional) snow peas (saya-endou) * Soak dried shiitake in 2 cups water. Weigh down with a saucer or place in a ziplock bag. * Pull out sinews from chicken (use large tweezers), remove any large chunks of fat, cut into bite-sized pieces (not too small, the pieces will shrink on cooking). * Place chicken in a pan with sugar, soy sauce, and sake, simmer till tender, turning chicken pieces from time to time. Reserve chicken. * Peel and cut carrot. Use a rolling cut (ran-giri) for most of it, reserve some and cut with a decorative cutter, or cut thick slices and trim into flower shapes. * Scrub burdock root, peel if necessary, use a rolling cut and cut into bite-sized pieces, either soak in vinegared water or drop quickly into lightly vinegared boiling water, parboil and drain. * Peel lotus root, and either cut thick slices and divide into fan-shaped quarters, or cut thick chunks and cut vertically in half, then use a rolling-cut to cut into bite-sized pieces. Drop into lightly vinegared water. * Drain bamboo shoot, use a rolling cut to cut into bite-sized piece. * Drain shiitake, reserve water. Cut off stems, trim edges to make a hexagon (turtle-cut). * Slice konnyaku widthwise, about 7-8 mm thick. Make a fairly short vertical slit in each slice. Holding one end, pull the other end through the slit once or twice to make a decorative twist. * Drain all vegetables. Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok, stirfry the rolling-cut carrot, and add the other vegetables. Stirfry till all coated with oil and the surfaces beginning to cook. * Add shiitake liquid and water or dashi added to make about 1.5 cups(add a dashi bag 1-2 tsp instant dashi if you like). Also add the sugar, half the soy sauce, and pan juices from the chicken. * Place a drop-lid on top, and simmer till tender (about 30 minutes), skimming any scum that rises. * Place konnyaku twists in a pan, just cover with water, place a drop-lid on top (so that they don't come uncurled!) and simmer briefly to set the shape. Cool, drain, and add to vegetable mixture to continue simmering and absorbing flavor. * Meanwhile, place the decoratively cut carrot in a small pan, just cover with water, add a little sugar and mirin, and a pinch of salt, and simmer till tender-crisp (if too soft, the shapes will break up). Remove from pan, but cool in cooking liquid. * Boil snap peas in salted water till tender-crisp, spread out to cool, and sprinkle with a little mirin. Cut diagonally in half. * When vegetables are ready, add cooked chicken, heat thoroughly. Check seasonings and add the rest of the soy sauce if needed. Season thoroughly, or it will be too bland when eaten cold. * Boil and peel quail eggs (or buy water-packed boiled quail eggs). Drain and wipe dry. Heat a metal skewer until red hot, and mark decoratively with “eyes” divided by a central “comb”, and 3 lines along the “body”. * Use a fine skewer to make holes in the ginkgo nuts, threat onto washed pine needles (don’t break the bunchlets up. Japanese pines normally have two needles per bunch – just thread the nuts onto one of the needles). * Wipe the bottom of your juu-bako (set of New Year lacquered boxes) with sake, or get a good-sized shallow bowl, and arrange the vegetables and chicken attractively. Make bunches of 3 pieces of snow pea, and poke them here and there in a fan-shaped bunch. Scatter the ginkgo nuts and quail eggs here and there. Keywords: Side, Japanese, Intermediate, Chicken, Vegetables ( RG2069 )

Kinton Sweet Potato for New Year Serves 8 as Hors d'oeuvre. This sweetened puree is a popular New Year dish. Traditionally heavily sweetened with sugar or syrup and mizu-ame, this version is considerably lighter. Please keep it refrigerated. The puree is usually mixed with chestnuts preserved in syrup, but apples and other fruit can make a fresher-tasting change. "Kintoki" is the preferred cultivar of satsuma imo (sweet potato) to use, because it cooks up to a nice yellow color. However, if you are prepared to soak well, and then change the cooking liquid once or twice in the initial cooking, any cultivar will produce a reasonable yellow...unless you choose to use purple sweet potatoes, of course. Counsel of perfection: crush gardenia pods into cooking water, boil till bright yellow, strain out pods, and THEN add sweet potatoes. This will ensure good, even coloring. Also, boil sugar and other seasonings with some of the cooking liquid to make a syrup which can be added to the sieved sweet potatoes rather than adding dry sugar. It is for this reason that some people use the syrup from the chestnuts instead of sugar, but I find this can be sickly. I prefer to decrease the sugar and use more mirin. You can also use maple syrup or honey if you prefer. 500 g satsuma-imo sweet potatoes 90 g sugar pinch of salt 2 T mirin (sweet rice wine) 2 kuchinashi (gardenia seed pod) optional 1 red apple optional 250 g whole chestnuts in syrup SWEET POTATO PUREE * Peel imo rather thickly (most fiber is near the skin), cut into large chunks, soak in water for at least 1 hour (removes sap which will discolor cooked potato). * Drain, rubbing any loose starch etc from surface. * Microwave (600W) in a covered heatproof bowl with 1 c water, for about 12 minutes or until soft. Alternatively, simmer, with 2 gardenia pods crushed and wrapped in gauze or a teabag pouch, just covered with water, till soft. Drain and replace water once or twice if possible. * If microwaving, do not drain, but mash remaining liquid and imo together, then sieve. If cooking on the stovetop, drain and reserve cooking liquid. * In either case, mash sweet potato while hot, and sieve. * Add seasonings, mix well. If too dry (should be a bit wetter than regular miso or applesauce)add either cooking liquid from apples or from sweet potatoes, or syrup from drained chestnuts. * Microwave (600W) in a covered heatproof bowl 3-4 minutes. Alternatively, tip in to pot, and cook over low heat until thick, stirring occasionally and shaking pan (if you stir too much, the sugar will crystallize, making the puree less attractive). * Add drained chestnuts or other fruit etc, mix, spread out to cool, and refrigerate until needed. APPLE VERSION 2 sharp red apples (preferably kougyoku cultivar) 90g sugar 2-3 T wine * Core apple and cut into 8ths without peeling, cube. Soak in lightly salted water. * Drain apples and place in heatproof bowl, sprinkle with sugar and wine, cover with plastic wrap and microwave at 600W for 9-10 minutes. * Drain apples and reserve liquid (add back into sweet potato puree later). FRUIT VERSION 2 slices canned pineapple 1 green kiwifruit 3 T raisins 1 small red apple * Core apple, cut in 8ths without peeling, cube, simmer with a little sugar, add lemon juice to finish. Cool and drain. * Peel and cube kiwifruit, and simmer briefly in syrup, cool and drain. Use kiwifruit raw if the dish does not need to keep – the raw kiwifruit is refreshing, but this dish spoils much faster than regular kinton unless the kiwifruit is cooked. * Cut up pineapple, add all fruit and raisins to imo mixture. Serve. Keywords: Vegan, Japanese, Hors d'oeuvre, Intermediate, Vegetables ( RG2068 )

Datemaki Egg Roll for New Year Serves 8 as Hors d'oeuvre. This spongy egg roll with the distinctive crimped edges is found on many Japanese New Year tables. It is thickened with surimi fish paste or with "hanpen", a pillowy steamed fish cake which includes yama-imo. Hanpen freezes very well, if you want to put some aside for making datemaki. 6 eggs 60 hanpen (1 sheet) (steamed fish cake) 3 T sugar 1 T sake (rice wine) 2 T mirin (sweet rice wine) 1/2 tsp soy sauce 1/3 tsp salt * Chop hanpen roughly, place in blender or food processor with all other ingredients, and blend until hanpen is thoroughly amalgamated. Alternatively, grind hanpen into a paste in a mortar, and gradually amalgamate eggs and seasonings. OVEN METHOD * Heat oven to 200deg.C, set for 15 minutes. * Pour mixture into greased pan, bake until surface is dry and edges golden-brown. SQUARE FRYPAN METHOD * Grease square pan, heat, pour all egg in at once. Cook without stirring. * Once edges firm up, place a fish-grilling net or similar under the pan to reduce the heat, and place a tray (oil the bottom) etc over the top as a lid. * Have an old wet towel nearby, and occasionally take the omelet pan off the heat and place it on the wet towel to reduce heat. * When surface is dry, turn out onto flat surface such as the greased tray. * Return to omelet pan, top side down, and cook for about 1 minute. TO FINISH * Spread out an oni-sudare (bamboo mat with heavy triangular slats). Remove the egg roll and place the browned side DOWN on the mat. * Roll while still hot, pushing the egg with the near edge of the mat as you roll, until the entire roll is contained inside the rolled up mat. Fasten with a rubber band if necessary, and leave to cool, with the outside edge of the roll facing DOWN. * When the roll is no warmer than lukewarm, unroll the mat, tip out the roll, and cut into 1cm slices with a sharp knife. Keywords: Intermediate, Japanese ( RG2067 )

Sorry if the layout of the recipe isn't clear...the recipe is for chicken, which is probably the most common meat in Kanto ozoni. Buri is a variation, and other fish are used in different parts of Japan, both in clear broth and miso ozoni.

A $30 kitchen fan...only been waiting 10 years for it...I've been asking for it so long that my husband actually fooled himself into thinking that we'd already replaced it once and that I was asking for ANOTHER one!!! But the real gift was that he crawled up there and bashed the rusted-in, gunked over screws on the old one into submission all by himself, and installed the new one for me.

I put the ozoni recipe up first, because ozoni is the first and most important of the New Year dishes – there is no keeping New Year properly without it. It has been THE New Year dish at least since the 16th century. I wondered idly why ozoni is so local, while nishime (boiled root vegetables) ingredients are pretty standard all around Japan. This interesting book had the answer: Ozoni used to be made with the fresh and dried vegetables which had been offered to the Toshi no Kami (God of the Year) on the family Kamidana or “God Shelf” (Shinto altar), using fresh fire and water. Since the offering is made with the hope of good harvests for the next year, ozoni is made with local produce. Since the new day, and consequently the new year, used to start after sundown (the end of the old day), dishes like noodles and in some places ozoni and mochi were the first dishes of the new year, the oldest and most traditional dishes, and the most likely to be vegetarian. The food packed into the juubako or served with drinks the following day is more festive in nature, once the passage to the New Year has been properly observed. I've a recipe for the most traditional, vegetarian form of white miso Kansai ozoni, however these days throughout Japan fish sausage – especially pink and white kamaboko or naruto-maki are also used, especially because they are not “raw”. It is not uncommon to add fish to Kansai-style ozoni, or chicken in Kanto or the lower regions of northern Japan. Other local fish, or seafood such as ikura (salmon roe), ebi (shrimp), or hamaguri (clams) are used. By the way, the same book mentions "toshi-tori-zkana" in the northern and Japan Sea regions. The color white is very important, because it symbolizes rice, the staple food, and also snow, which makes the earth damp and friable, ready for spring planting. Therefore, white mochi, white daikon, and white sato-imo (small taro) are very common ingredients in ozoni everywhere in Japan. Festive red accents come mainly from the intensely-colored Japanese carrot, and from fish sausage if used. Since our family is officially in mourning this year, we should probably make only the old dishes, rather than the festive treats, and should probably leave out the brightly colored red or yellow items. The "trio" of black beans, salted herring roe, and tiny candied dried fish are a surprisingly longstanding tradition, and seem to be the same almost everywhere in Japan, although a few places serve other dried fish such as squid or abalone instead of the tiny "gomame" fish. My interesting book comments drily that the fact that they are so uniform, and also linked to very unfestive virtues like health and hard work, suggests the hand of moralizing officialdom! Recipes: Ozoni New Year's Soup, Kansai style Kazunoko for New Year Black Beans for New Year Gomame or Tazukuri Candied Dried Fish for New Year

I'm enjoying the vicarious trip to Osaka as well as the food pix. I forgot about sometimes being able to enjoy red leaves well into December! So did you go anywhere else in Osaka after the German Christmas market at Umeda?

Gomame or Tazukuri, Candied Dried Fish for New Year This is one of the trio of festive dishes for New Year in Japan – black beans, salted herring roe, and candied dried fish – served as drink snacks. Gomame are a different species of sardine than the usual “niboshi” used for dashi. They are slender, firmer, and have a yellowish stripe. 20 g gomame (tiny dried fish) 1 T sugar, generous 1 T soy sauce 1 tsp mirin (sweet rice wine) 1/2 tsp sake little oil * Prepare a plate or tray with nonstick baking paper over it. * Spread out gomame, remove any broken pieces etc. * Transfer to a heatproof dish in one layer, well spaced, and heat in microwave 2-3 minutes, until one snaps crisply rather than bending when tested. You can achieve the same result by dry-frying while stirring in a heavy frypan over moderate heat. * Put sugar, soy sauce, and mirin in a small pan, bring to the boil, shaking but not stirring, until the mixture foams up. * When you see coarser “eyes” in the fine foam, quickly sprinkle in the oil (preerably sesame) and sake, and add the fish. Stir (with chopsticks) briefly and shake the pan, till well coated. Turn off heat. * Quickly remove to nonstick paper covered plate, spread out to cool. The faster they cool, the shinier and more attractive they will be. Variations: add sesame seeds or chopped/slivered almonds to the candying mixture with the fish, or sprinkle parmesan cheese or white poppy seeds over the hot candied fish as it cools. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Seafood, Intermediate, Japanese ( RG2066 )

Black Beans for New Year This is one of the trio of festive dishes for New Year in Japan – black beans, salted herring roe, and candied dried fish – served as drink snacks. This recipe makes a smaller amount than most traditional recipes, and is also less sweet – feel free to add sugar. Keep refrigerated. Although ginger is sometimes used as a garnish, it is not traditionally used when cooking the beans…except in my family! Left-over black beans go well in the first bento of the year, and also in an-mitsu-mame desserts, or with left-over vinegared flower-cut lotus root. Alternatively, make this Edo-period New Year okowa dish. Cook mochi-gome (“sweet” or “sticky” rice) colored yellow with kuchinashi, and with these beans added. 1/2 c black beans (70 g approx.) 2 c water 1 rusty nail 70 g sugar (1/3 c. approx.) 1/2 T soy sauce ginger, several slices, optional red chorogi or other garnish, optional * Bring seasonings and water to the boil, add washed, drained beans and nail, put the lid on, and leave overnight. * Next day, bring to boil, and allow to simmer until softened to your taste. As this is such a small recipe, take care that the beans don’t scorch – alternatively, microwave. * If you like your beans wrinkly, allow water level to drop (stir to avoid sticking), and add part of the sugar when the water level is well down. * If you like your beans plump, don't allow water level to drop below the top of the beans, and use a piece of cloth or baking paper as a drop lid, to ensure that the beans don’t touch the air. A regular drop lid would squash the beans. * When ready, cool in liquid. To serve, drain slightly, serve mixed with red chorogi, or with a topping such as shredded ginger, gold leaf, shredded yuzu peel etc. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Vegan, Beans, Japanese ( RG2065 )

Kazunoko Salted Herring Roe for New Year This is one of the trio of festive dishes for New Year in Japan – black beans, salted herring roe, and candied dried fish – served as drink snacks. If you can buy desalted roe, simply check that it is clean, wipe with sake if need be, and soak in the seasoning mix. * Quantities disappeared when using the Ingredient Wizard, here they are... 150g roe, 1T sake For seasoning: 1 c dashi stock, 1 T each of sake and mirin, 1-3 T light soy sauce. salted kazunoko herring roe sake (rice wine) (200ml) dashi (kelp/katsuo stock) sake mirin (sweet rice wine) 1 light soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu) Katsuo-bushi (bonito flakes) * Soak the salted kazunoko in lightly salted water for 5-6 hours, changing the water twice. Start with a 3% solution (6g salt dissolved in a 200ml cup of water) and gradually reduce to a 1% solution (2g or a pinch of salt dissolved in a 200ml cup of water). Break off a small piece of roe and taste – it should neither be unpleasantly salty, nor bland and tasteless. The time required will depend on how it was salted originally, and how large the pieces are. * Rub the membrane off the surface of the roe, removing it with a toothpick. * Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sake over the cleaned roe. *Mix the remaining seasonings together in a container or bag, wipe the roe, and place in the seasoning mix. Use more soy sauce if you like, but I prefer to use less, and have people add more at table as desired.If you need to make dashi, use about 5g (half a cup) of katsuo-bushi and 5cm of kelp. * Refrigerate at least overnight, until needed. * To serve, drain, cut into bite-sized pieces, and serve topped with katsuo-bushi. Kazunoko also goes well with namasu salad and other vinegared dishes. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Seafood, Easy, Japanese ( RG2064 )

Ozoni New Year's Soup (Kansai style) Serves 4 as Soup. Ozoni is traditionally made from vegetables offered on the family Shinto shrine, and is the most basic and important New Year dish. Since the offering is made with the hope of good harvests for the next year, ozoni is made with local produce. It is primarily vegetarian, and many families still make it with kelp stock only. However these days fish stock and fish sausage – especially pink and white kamaboko or naruto-maki are also common, especially because they are not “raw”. It is not uncommon to add grilled, lightly salted fish to Kansai-style ozoni. The color white is very important, because it symbolizes rice, the staple food, and also snow, which makes the earth damp and friable, ready for spring planting. Therefore, white mochi, white daikon, and white sato-imo (small taro) are very common ingredients in ozoni everywhere in Japan. The white color is an essential part of New Year, and even families in mourning make these dishes, avoiding the only the festive red accents that come from the intensely-colored Japanese carrot, and from fish sausage if used. The white miso used in the Kansai area is often a special mild, sweet miso, and as it is not salty, you may use much more of it than you would use of even the lightest-colored regular miso. The soup will be much milder, thicker, and sweeter than regular miso soup. 20g per cup of stock should be about right, but add gradually to taste, and you may even need more if you are using Kyoto miso. 4 round mochi (rice cakes) 8 slices from a small daikon, thick or thin slices, as you prefer 8 slices of carrot, preferably Japanese “kyo-ninjin” 1.4 l water 15 g konbu (dried kelp) 50 g katsuo-bushi, shaved bonito flakes for stock, optional 100 g white miso 10 g katsuo-bushi (finely shaved bonito flakes for garnish) Shreds of yuzu peel *Soak kelp and water overnight. * Next day, add katsuo-bushi if desired, bring gently to a low boil, and remove the kelp. You should have at least a liter of kelp stock (4 US or 5 Japanese cups). Use the kelp and katsuo-bushi again to make stock for more heavily flavored dishes. * Cut the daikon into lengths of 4-5cm, and peel – move the knife horizontally round the daikon, so that the finished shape is as round as possible. Slice to desired thickness. * Parboil the daikon in water you have washed rice in, or throw a handful of unwashed rice or rice bran into the cooking water. It is best not to skip this step, especially with a full-size daikon. Rinse off bran, rice, etc., and put the daikon into the kelp stock. * Peel and slice the carrot in the same way, parboil in water, drain and place in kelp stock. * Heat mochi rice cakes in hot water till soft, keep aside in water till needed. * Reheat stock and vegetables. * Meanwhile shred the yuzu peel and set aside. * Remove the vegetables and arrange together with mochi rice cakes in soup bowls. Mix about a cup of the warm kelp stock with the white miso, strain it, discard the lees, and stir the thinned miso into the kelp stock. * Pour the miso soup over the vegetables, not completely covering them, and add a small pile of bonito flakes and a few shreds of yuzu peel to each serving. Keywords: Soup, Japanese, Vegan, Vegetarian, Easy ( RG2063 )

That cake looks very cute! Hope you had no left overs! Our Christmas cake was similar, but with a chocolate sponge, and grated chocolate and strawberries in the filling, and eaten on Christmas Eve. We used regular whipping cream though - there is chocolate fake cream available, guaranteed to take the festivity out of any occasion. So what was inside the snowman pastry? Is it...some type of doughnut?? We had a turkey for the first time ever in Japan, just happened to have them in the supermarket this year. I "harvested" the entire half-dozen cranberries from my tiny cranberry bush, and made an apple/cranberry/kumquat sauce, along with stuffing. My kids don't really mind what they have, as long as it involves gravy and roast potatoes. I spent Christmas in the kotatsu with a newly acquired out-of-print book on regional New Year specialties from around Japan, studying up what to cook for New Year !

Long, long, loooong ago, the idea of milk consumption came to Japan from northern China, maybe via Korea - only for the very rich, mostly the Imperial family - one record of a fermented drink, probably alcoholic. Mostly recorded as a health and stamina supplement, and seems to have been evaporated milk, or some kind of solid preserve made from evaporated milk. Sounds pretty much like the Chinese uses of milk, in fact! No wonder evaporated milk is so popular in Asia, it's a continuation of tradition.